Allardyce led his side to the 2004 final where they lost to Middlesbrough and believes the benefits of reaching another final outweigh the negative impact of the competition.

He is set to give a number of his fringe players the chance to start in tomorrow night’s Reebok Stadium clash with West Ham.

But he said: “To experience the joy of getting the Millennium Stadium is something you want in the world of football.

“History will tell you whether you have won a cup competition that you haven’t won for ages and it qualifies you for Europe as well. You just hope it will not prove too much of a burden.”

Suspended

Allardyce had half his regular first team sidelined for Sunday’s Barclays Premiership victory over West Brom, and injured pair Jay-Jay Okocha and Gary Speed and the suspended Ricardo Gardner are still ruled out against the Hammers.

But Allardyce admitted he too is feeling the mental strain of a busy fixture schedule which has been heightened by his side’s qualification for the group stages of the UEFA Cup.

Allardyce added: “I am absolutely knackered and fatigued because of all the mental preparations that need doing before every game.

“You turn round every corner and the next game is right on top of you and if it had not been for the international breaks I would have felt like we had had a whole season already.

“I will change my players around tomorrow to make sure my squad plays to its full potential because it is all about avoiding mental fatigue and physical injuries over this marathon season we have at the moment.”